Expanding trouser hanger



sept. 15, 195@n w. P. cRocKE'i-T, J l. `2,904,235

EXPANDING TROUSER HANGER l ,2 Sheevts-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1957 Sew 35, 3959 A4w. P. czFzoczKl-zr'r,y JR 2,904,235

EXPANDING TROUSER HANGER Filed July 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nited States Patent EXPANDING TROUSER HANGER William P. Crockett, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Setwell Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of'lllin'ois Application July 115, 1957, Serial No. 671,769y 6 Claims. (Cl. 223-95) ThisV invention relates tol an expandingu trouser hanger of the weight-actuated type. Suchv trouser hangers are provided with slidably associated cuit-engaging portions which hook under the cuffs of the two trouser legs of the trousers to be supported thereby and which are urged outwardly by the weight of the trousers so as to tension the cuffs in such a manner that the` trousers will hang smoothly from the trouser hanger.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved weight-actuated type of expanding trouser hanger which comprises only three parts, and which dispenses withall fastening means such as screws and rivets, thereby considerably reducing the cost of manufacture.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel type of. actuating means for urging the cuit-engaging portions outwardly.

A further object is to provide improved ymeans for associating the cuff-engaging portions Withy each other in order to provide a cantilevered structure which can be supported by a single centrally disposed supporting member.

Still another object, is to provide .an improved arrangement of parts which prevents inadvertent disassembly of the trouser hanger during normal operation;

'Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as this description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

Fig. l is an elevation of `a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the cuff-engaging members; Y

Fig. 3a is similar to Fig. 3 but shows a modification thereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 2 and also showing a changed` position of the parts in broken lines;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section taken along line 5--5 of Fig. 4, and also showing. in broken linesthe manner in which a pair of trousers is supported by my improved trouser hanger;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken along line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view showing a modiiied form of the central supporting member, and

Fig. 8 is an end view of Fig. 7.

As shown in Fig. 1, my trouser .hanger comprises a central supporting member 10` 'the upper portion of which -is provided with a hook 11', in combination with two cuff-engaging members 12 and 13. The latter members are slidably associated with each other, and the central supporting member 10 is associated' with the cuffengaging members 12 and 13 in such a manner that it both supports the same and actuates the same.

Referring now to Fig. 3 in 'which one of the cuifengaging members 13 is` shown, it will'be seen that vthe same `comprises, .a U,shaped:member .14. and. aY longi- ICC tudinally extending member 15. The U-shapedmember 14 comprises two transversely spaced vertically extending wing portions 16 which hook under the cuffs of a pair of trousers, one wing portion for the inner cuff of each trouser leg. These wing portions are connected by a connecting portion 17. The connecting portion 17 may be provided with one or more reinforcing webs 18 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The longitudinal member 15 comprises a T-shaped section of which the web 19 is horizontally disposed and of which the flange 20 is vertically disposed. One of the wing portions 16 is supported for its full length on the web 19 as indicated by the joint 21, whereas the opposite wing portion is `cut a'way as shown at 22 to accommodate the yoke 23 to be hereinafter described.

The end of the longitudinal member 15 which is opposite from the U-shaped member 14, is provided with a yoke 23. This yoke is provided with a T-shaped opening 24 the cross section of which is sufficiently large to receive the T-shaped longitudinal member 15 of the other one of the entf-engaging members, 12. The twocuif-engaging members 12 and 13 are of identical construction, thus permitting them to be conveniently made of molded plastic material from the same or identical molds. The parts of cuff-engaging membery 12 which correspond to the identical parts of cuif-engaging member 13 as above described, are indicated by the same reference numerals, but primed.

It will be observed in Fig. 6 that the longitudinal member 15 is disposed wholly on one side of the median plane which is located between the wing portions 161; the yoke-opening 24 is so located so that the longitudinal T-shaped member 15 which is received by the opening 24 is spaced on the other side of said median plane by a like distance.

The outer surface of the flange 20 is provided with spline teeth 25 which are separated from each other by grooves 26 which are undercut below the normal surface of the Vertical flange 20. The ilange 20 terminates short of the connecting portion 17 as indicated by the gap 27 in Fig. 2.. Thus, the two cuit-engaging portions 12 and 13 may be associated with each other by so positioning them that the yoke 23 of one fits into the gap 27 of the other, and vice versa, thus permitting the openings 24 and 24 to be brought into alignment with the vertical flanges 20 and 20, respectively. When the parts are in this position, the two may be moved outwardly one from the other with the result that the yoke of one will engage the flange of the other. It is thus clear each one of the cuif-engaging members is supported at two points with respect to the other.

The central supporting member 10 comprises an upper shank portion 30 and a lower shank portion 31 which are connected by a wedge portion 32. Spline teeth 33- are formed on both surfaces of the lower shank portion 31, the teeth 33 being separated by grooves 34. The splined lower shank portion 31 of the central supporting member 16 is freely received between the longitudinal members 15 in such a manner that the spline teeth of each will mesh with the other.

The spline teeth and grooves are all of the same hand to the end that downward movement of the cuff-engaging members with respect to the central supporting member will cause the cuff-engaging members to expand or move cutwardly from one another, and vice versa.

In assembling the device, the cuit-engaging portions 12 and 13 are rst assembled to each other as above pointed out. Their position during assembly is the contracted position. Thereafter they are expanded slightly so that the yoke 23 of one engages the ilange 20 of the other, and vice versa. Then the central supporting member 10 is inserted, hook end. first, between the spaced longitudinal members 15 and 15. As the wedge portion 32 is forced between the spline teeth 25 of the flanges 20, it will cause the longitudinal portions to bow outwardly slightly. The movement of the vcentral supporting member is continued until such time asthe spline teeth 33 of the lower shank portion 31 engage and mesh with the spline teeth 25 and 25 of the two longitudinal members and 15. The preceding operation implies that just before the central supporting member is inserted, the two cuff-engaging portions are so adjusted longitudinally that their spline teeth 25 will be opposite each other and in a position to mesh with the spline teeth 33 of the central supporting member 10. Thereafter, the trouser hanger is ready for operation.

In the event that the parts are made from a nonlexible material, such as aluminum or die-casting metal, a vertical groove 37 is formed at the inner end of the splined portion of the flanges and 20' respectively, as shown in Fig. 3a. This permits the wedge portion 32 to enter between the vertical llanges 20. Since the splines and grooves and 26 are diagonally disposed, they will intersect the notch 37 so that continued upward movement of the central supporting member 10 will cause the spline teeth 33 to mesh with the teeth 25. Since, in normal position when not used, the cuff-engaging portions drop downwardly, they are in the expanded position with the result that the elements cannot become separated unless the cuff-engaging portions are manually contracted against the gravitational force which otherwise causes them to maintain themselves in expanded position.

In the alternative, the grooves 34 of the lower shank portion 31 may be extended upwardly into the wedge portion 32 as shown in Fig. 7, thus permitting engagement of the parts without exing the longitudinally extending members 15 and 15.

To summarize the operation which has been detailed above in connection with the description of the several parts, the cuff-engaging portions are iirst contracted, and then the inner cuff of one trouser leg 40 is hooked over one wing portion 16 of each pair, and the inner cuff of the other trouser leg 41 is hooked over the opposite wing portion of each pair. The cult-engaging portions may then be manually expanded until they engage the ends of the cutis, and then the trouser hanger may be grasped by the hook 11 and the hook 11 hooked over a clothes rod 42. The weight of the trousers will urge the cuiT-engaging portions downwardly, and the cooperation of the spline teeth and grooves will at the same time cause the cuff-engaging portions to be urged outwardly to expanded position, with the result that a continuous tension is applied to the cuffs of the trouser legs which is proportional to the weight of the garment. This causes the trouser legs to hang smoothly and without wrinkles.

Although only a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit of my invention as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A trouser hanger comprising a central supporting member and two cuff-engaging members, each cut-engaging member including a pair of cuff-engaging wings and a longitudinally extending member, and means associated with said cuff-engaging members for slidably assembling one with the other for longitudinal movement between an expanded and a contracted position, the oppositely disposed surface portions of said longitudinally extending members being splined, and said central supporting member being provided with a non-rotatable lower splined shank portion disposed between said splined surface portions and meshing therewith, said splined portions cooperating with each other so that downward movement of said culi-engaging members with respect to said central supporting member will cause said culi-engaging members to expand outwardly.

2. A trouser hanger comprising a central supporting member and two cuff-engaging members, each cuff-engaging member including a pair of cuit-engaging wings and a longitudinally extending member, means associated with said cuff-engaging members for slidably assembling one with the other for longitudinal movement between an expanded and a contracted position, spline teeth formed on the oppositely disposed surface portions of said longitudinally extending members, said central supporting member being provided with a lower shank portion disposed between said longitudinally extending members, and spline teeth formed on the opposite surfaces of said lower shank portion and meshing with the spline teeth of said longitudinal members, said spline teeth being inclined in such a direction that downward movement of said cuff-engaging members with respect to said central supporting member will cause said cuff-engaging members to expand outwardly.

3. A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 2 in which said longitudinally extending members are each formed with a T-shaped cross-section, the flanges of the T-section of each member facing each other, and in which said means for slidably assembling said cuff-engaging portions comprises a yoke member formed at the inner end of each said longitudinally extending member, each yoke member being provided with an opening for receiving the T- section ange of the other longitudinally extending member and constituting a point of support for the end of the longitudinally extending member of which it forms a part and a point of support for an intermediate portion of the other longitudinally extending member whereby each of said cuit-engaging members is supported at two points with respect to the other.

4. A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 2 in which said longitudinally extending members are resilient in flexure to a slight extent and in which said central supporting member is provided with an upper shank portion, said lower shank portionand a connecting wedge portion, the thickness of said upper shank portion being substantially equal to the width of the spacing between said oppositely disposed surface portions so that said upper shank portion can be received therebetween, and said lower shank portion being substantially thicker than said upper shank portion, said spline teeth being formed by grooves cut in said lower shank portion, and Said connecting Wedge portion providing a substantially smooth divergent surface merging with the surface portions of said upper and lower shank portions, whereby upon nsertion of said upper shank portion between said oppositely disposed surface portions and continued upward movement thereof, said connecting wedge portion will bow said resilient longitudinally extending members outwardly until such time as the spline teeth of said central supporting member and said oppositely disposed surface portions mesh with each other.

5. A trouser hanger as claimed in claim 2 in which said longitudinally extending members are each formed with a T-shaped cross-section, the flanges of the T-section of each member comprising said oppositely disposed surface portions iirst mentioned on which said spline teeth are formed, and in which said longitudinally extending members are resilient in ilexure to a slight extent, and in which said central supporting member includes an upper shank portion and a wedge portion connecting the same with said lower shank portion, the thickness of said upper shank portion being substantially equal to the width of the spacing between said oppositely disposed T-section flanges so that said upper shank portion can be received therebetween, and said lower shank por-tion being substantially thicker than said upper shank portion, said spline teeth being formed by grooves cut in said lower shank portion, and said connecting wedge portion providing substantially smooth divergent surfaces connecting and merging with the surface portions of said upper and lower shank portions, whereby upon insertion of said upper shank portion between said T-section anges and continued upward movement thereof, said connecting wedge portion will bow said resilient longitudinally eX- tending members outwardly until such time as the spline teeth of said central supporting member and said T-section flanges mesh with each other.

6. A trouser hanger comprising a central supporting member and two cuff-engaging portions, each culi-engaging portion including a longitudinally extending member, a pair ofcu-engaging wings at one end thereof, and a yoke at the other end thereof, the yoke of one cuff-engaging member interlocking with and slidably engaging the longitudinally extending member of the other to permit relative longitudinal movement between an expanded and a contracted position, the oppositely disposed surface portions of said longitudinally extending members being splined, and said central supporting member having two opposite surfaces provided with spline teeth to provide a lower splined shank portion disposed between 6 said splined surface portions and meshing therewith, said splined portions cooperating with each other so that downward movement of said cuff-engaging members with respect to said central supporting member will cause said cuil-engaging members to move outwardly into expanded position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,410,411 Scoeld Mar. 21, 1922 1,670,938 Printz et al. May 22, 1928 2,230,300 Kirkegaard Feb. 4, 1941 2,344,604 De Gray Mar. 21, 1944 2,393,263 Puzio Ian. 22, 1946 2,562,559 Lyman July 31, 1951 2,678,759 Hamlin May 18, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 507,680 Canada Nov. 30, 1954 

